News

Signs two-year extension

Analysis: Cousins signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract during the 2018 offseason, and the Vikings have seen enough to know that they want him around past 2020. The 31-year-old quarterback has completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 7.5 yards per attempt in a Minnesota uniform, tossing 56 touchdowns against 16 interceptions in 31 regular-season games. Cousins will work with a new offensive coordinator in 2020, as the Vikings have promoted Gary Kubiak to replace Kevin Stefanski.

Published: Mon, Mar 16 at 7:07am by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Struggles in San Francisco

Cousins completed 21 of 29 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown with one interception in Saturday's 27-10 loss to the 49ers in the NFC divisional round.

Analysis: The Minnesota offense couldn't get much going either on the ground or through the air against one of the league's elite defenses, and while Cousins was accurate, he had little luck stretching the field aside from a 41-yard TD strike to Stefon Diggs in the first quarter. The 31-year-old QB finished his second regular season with the Vikings having completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 3,603 yards and a sharp 26:6 TD:INT through 15 games, as well as an 8.1 YPA that was a full yard better than…read more

Published: Sat, Jan 11 at 8:02pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Throws winning TD pass

Cousins completed 19 of 31 pass attempts for 242 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's 26-20 wild-card win over the Saints.

Analysis: Cousins struggled in the early going, taking a back seat as the rushing attack carried the team. He was pressed into action in the second half and in overtime, when he led the team down the field before completing the game-winning touchdown to Kyle Rudolph. The veteran primarily connected with Adam Thielen, who broke off several big gains while piling up 129 yards. Although Cousins came out on top in this one, he didn't exactly light up the scoreboard and could be hard-pressed to do so again in…read more

Published: Sun, Jan 5 at 4:47pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Active, but likely working as backup

Cousins is active for Sunday's game against the Bears but is expected to serve as the backup to Sean Mannion, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis: The Vikings haven't officially confirmed that Cousins won't start like he usually does, but with Minnesota already locked in as the NFC's No. 6 seed entering Sunday, there's little incentive for the team to exposing its top quarterback to a potential injury in a meaningless season finale. As Cronin notes, the fact the Vikings have made both of their starting offensive tackles (Riley Reiff and Brian O'Neill) healthy inactives is a sign Cousins will only play in an emergency.

Published: Sun, Dec 29 at 8:46am by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Not expected to play

Cousins and other Vikings starters are expected to be held out of Sunday's game against the Bears, Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis: The Vikings haven't finalized their plans but are reportedly leaning in this direction. Other candidates for rest and/or limited snaps include Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph, along with banged-up running backs Dalvin Cook (shoulder) and Alexander Mattison (ankle). Sean Mannion is next up at quarterback, while Mike Boone, Ameer Abdullah, Bisi Johnson and Laquon Treadwell are the best bets to take on the vacated carries and targets.

Published: Fri, Dec 27 at 9:33am by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

May not start against Chicago

Cousins doesn't know how much he'll play this week against the Bears or whether he'll play at all, the team's official web site reports. "Certainly would love to be able to play well and get a bad taste out of your mouth, and we'll see what ends up being the right call," he said.

Analysis: With the Vikings locked into the No. 6 playoff seed, there's nothing to play for this week against Chicago. Head coach Mike Zimmer hasn't said whether he'll rest his starters and may not announce a decision until kickoff. Cousins is a risky fantasy option as a result. However, the Vikings may play their starters for a quarter or two after a poor offensive performance in last week's loss to Green Bay.

Published: Thu, Dec 26 at 5:44pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

MNF struggles continue

Cousins completed 16 of 31 passes for 122 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Monday's 23-10 loss to Green Bay.

Analysis: Cousins struggled outside of a 21-yard touchdown to Stefon Diggs, which put Minnesota ahead 10-3 in the second quarter. He had a would-be 53-yard touchdown to Bisi Johnson in the fourth quarter erased on an offensive holding call and failed to move the offense effectively as he fell to a remarkable 0-9 on Monday Night Football. With seeding still at stake against the Bears in Week 17, Cousins will need to bounce back quickly. Hopefully standout running back Dalvin Cook (chest) will return and…read more

Published: Mon, Dec 23 at 8:42pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Quiet in blowout victory

Cousins completed 19 of 25 pass attempts for 207 yards, one touchdown, and one interception Sunday against the Chargers, adding 14 rushing yards in the 39-10 victory.

Analysis: Cousins completed 76 percent of his passes while his team's defense and rushing attack allowed him to take a risk-averse approach. He averaged 8.3 yards per attempt and threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Irv Smith on the opening possession, but the lopsided nature of the game limited the necessity to pass. Next Monday's game against the Packers should be much more competitive, and with Dalvin Cook (shoulder) potentially sidelined, Cousins could be asked to throw early and often.

Published: Sun, Dec 15 at 7:49pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Manages Vikings to win

Cousins completed 24 of 30 pass attempts for 242 yards and a touchdown in the team's Week 14 win over the Lions.

Analysis: Cousins failed to throw multiple touchdowns for the first time in four contests and attempted just 10 passes in the second half. He made the best of his limited volume, however, averaging 8.1 yards per pass attempt. His performance was highlighted by several long plays, including a 44-yard completion to Stefon Diggs as well as a 36-yard connection with Laquon Treadwell. Cousins draws a matchup against the Chargers in Week 15.

Published: Sun, Dec 8 at 2:48pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Comes up short in Week 13 loss

Cousins completed 22 of 38 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the Vikings' 37-30 loss to the Seahawks on Monday.

Analysis: Cousins had to make do without the services of Adam Thielen (hamstring) once again, which diluted his options in what turned out to be a high-scoring affair. The veteran quarterback battled through, however, hitting Laquon Treadwell and Kyle Rudolph for touchdown passes of 58 and three yards, respectively, in the fourth quarter to almost spearhead a comeback from a 34-17 deficit. However, Cousins' one error was a costly one, as his interception on the first play of the final period gave the…read more

Published: Mon, Dec 2 at 8:56pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Leads big comeback

Cousins completed 29 of 35 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns during Sunday's 27-23 win over Denver. He lost a fumble during the contest.

Analysis: It was a tale of two halves as the Denver defense absolutely harassed Cousins before halftime, but the red-hot passer was able to lead touchdown drives on all four of Minnesota's possessions in the second half. The prettiest was a 54-yard bomb to Stefon Diggs early in the fourth quarter to bring Minnesota to within a score. Cousins sold a beautiful play-action fake, slid way out to his left and found Diggs flying up field. Cousins has been a completely different quarterback since Week 4's loss…read more

Published: Sun, Nov 17 at 1:56pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Throws for two scores in win

Cousins completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Sunday's 28-24 win over the Cowboys.

Analysis: Cousins was constantly under pressure by the Cowboys' fierce pass rush anytime he would drop back to pass, which is the main reason for a sub-par mark of 6.9 yards per attempt. The veteran signal-caller was able to take what the defense gave him, which were short dump-offs to Dalvin Cook (86 of Cousins' 220 passing yards came on screen or swing passes to his running back). Cousins has quashed media criticism by providing more wins for his club of late, but his last three fantasy performances…read more

Published: Sun, Nov 10 at 10:11pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com

Three-touchdown effort in loss

Cousins completed 19 of 38 passes for 220 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the Vikings' 26-23 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday. He also rushed once for five yards.

Analysis: Cousins dealt with the early exit of Adam Thielen (hamstring), who reinjured his leg in the first quarter and never returned. That may have helped lead to Cousins generating his second-lowest completion percentage of the season, but he still found a way to his fourth multi-touchdown effort in the last five games by notching scoring tosses to Bisi Johnson, Ameer Abdullah and Kyle Rudolph. Cousins now has three straight interception-free efforts, and he'll look to continue building momentum at…read more

Published: Sun, Nov 3 at 2:03pm by Rotowire.comMore news and analysis available atNFL.com